Needle biopsy procedures are common for the diagnosis and the staging of disease. For example, a fine needle aspiration needle may be advanced through a working channel of an endoscope to a target tissue site. Although fine needle aspiration is a highly sensitive and specific procedure, it is often difficult to acquire a suitable sample under certain clinical situations. The more cells or tissue that can be acquired, the greater the potential for a definitive diagnosis. Larger gauge needles, however, are difficult to pass along tortuous paths through the anatomy to target sites and may acquire samples including more blood, making it more difficult to obtain a diagnosis.